The 2024 National Research Conference for the Prevention of Firearm-Related Harms aims to bring attention and focus to the current state of the science and research on firearm related harms across the lifespan.

The Scientific Committee of the Conference is seeking workshop, symposium, oral and poster submissions on research encompassing all aspects of firearm-related harms, and from a wide array of disciplines (i.e., criminology, economics, education, engineering, medicine, nursing, psychology, public health, public policy, social work, sociology, etc.), focus areas (i.e., suicide, youth violence, community violence, unintentional injury, intimate partner violence, school shootings, mass shootings, technology and firearms, police violence, politically motivated violence), along the translational research spectrum (i.e., epidemiology, risk and protective factors, primary prevention, secondary & tertiary prevention, policy, implementation), and focused at any level of the socio-ecological model (individual, family, community, or policy). We also invite submissions focused on cross-cutting issues including novel data, design, and measurement methodology. The Committee is particularly interested in research addressing disparities in firearm-related harm outcomes.

Guidelines

Authors may submit proposals for symposia, oral presentations, poster presentations, or technical workshop sessions. If submissions for workshops and symposia are not selected to be included in the scientific programming, authors will have the opportunity to re-format and submit the science for consideration as an oral or poster presentation, should the author choose to. Decisions on workshops and symposia will be made prior to the deadline for oral and poster submission, to allow at least two weeks for authors to resubmit their science for consideration in the new format.

Only submissions that follow the stated requirements will be considered. While we recognize that different disciplines may follow differing structural guidelines for abstract development, in order to equitably score all submissions, all guidelines presented must be followed. 

Submissions should not be published or presented elsewhere prior to submission. We will not accept abstracts of proposed research or projects.

Note: Accepted submissions will be expected to be presented in-person in Seattle, WA.  There will not be options for pre-recording or virtual presentations. The 2024 conference will not be free, and all presenters must be registered to attend the Research Society for the Prevention of Firearm-Related Harms. Travel award applications will be released at a later date. 

Symposia Guidelines

Symposia are 90-minute sessions with up to 3 presentations on a similar topic or issue, with the goal of presenting a topic in greater depth and breadth and stimulating discussion. Sessions should be submitted by one contact person. Those submitting a symposium proposal must identify all speakers and presentations that will occur in the proposed session. At least 20 minutes of Q&A or discussion time must be reserved in each session. Those submitting in this category should submit: the overall session title;  a brief summary of the symposium (maximum of 400 words); 3 learning objectives; planned speaker names and affiliations; titles of individual presentations; and structured abstracts of each presentation (maximum of 400 words each). Note that the presenter table in the meeting rooms can accommodate up to six speakers maximum, if you have more presenters than this in your symposium, you may not all be able to sit at the  presenter table. A moderator will be assigned to your symposium if it is selected to be included in the scientific programing to facilitate QA and introduce the speakers. 

Workshop Guidelines

Workshops are 90 minute sessions. Instructors should provide in-depth information about a topic relevant to firearm-related harms prevention researchers, preferably methodological (technical) in nature. Note that the presenter table in the meeting rooms can accommodate up to six speakers maximum, if you have more presenters than this in your workshop, you may not all be able to sit at the  presenter table.

Workshop sessions should be submitted by one contact person. Those submitting a workshop proposal must identify all instructors and presentations that will occur in the proposed session. Submissions should include the overall session title and brief summary of the workshop (maximum of 400 words), overall learning objectives, and planned instructor names and affiliations.

Oral / Poster Abstract Guidelines

Authors submitting abstracts should indicate whether they would like to be considered for the following:

• Oral Presentation: brief 10-15 minute oral presentation made by an abstract author. Presentations will be selected to fill a panel session organized around a specific topic. Final length of individual presentations will be determined after the final schedule is set. Note: although you are able to have more than one presenter for an oral (as long as you keep within time limits), we are only able to sit one presenter at the presenter table per abstract. Any additional presenters would need to sit in the audience. Authors submitting abstracts for oral presentations will also be able to indicate whether they want to be considered for a poster presentation, should they not be chosen for an oral presentation.

• Poster Presentation: visual presentation of the research and presented during the poster sessions of the conference. At least one author is expected to be present during poster sessions to answer questions and describe the research to attendees.

All submissions for oral or poster abstracts are limited to 400 words, and must be organized around the following topic headings: 

• Background/Purpose

• Methods/Approach 

• Results/Outcome

• Conclusions/Implications 

Deadlines

Workshop and Symposium Submissions are due by Monday June 17, 2024 11:59pm ET

• Workshop and Symposium decision emails will be sent by the beginning of July, 2024

Oral and Poster submissions are due by Monday July 22, 2024 11:59pm ET

• Oral and Poster decision emails will be sent by mid September

Thank you so much to everyone for their submissions this year! The full scientific agenda can be found here.